What to see at London Design Festival 2023
One of our favourite things about September has to be the London Design festival.
Taking place from the 16th to the 24th, the London Design Festival celebrates and promotes London as the design capital of the world.
During this period, hundreds of exciting talks, exhibitions and workshops will take place across the city. There’s tonnes to explore, but we decided to round up the key events at the top of our ‘must see’ list.
Material Matters 2023
Material Matters is an event we look forward to each year. Returning to the atmospheric Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf, this event will showcase world-class brands, manufacturers, designers and makers, alongside an unmissable talks programme and installations focussed on celebrating the importance of materials in design and architecture.
Re-Made: Materials Exchange Hub
Since March, Re-Made has collected 400 wood pallets, 5 film sets and 2 shop interiors, plus 4 tonnes of raw clay from a nearby HS2 construction site. At this event you’ll get an insight into how these materials have been saved from landfill, and transformed by local artists and makers, demonstrating the potential for a circular economy in Park Royal.
Making it: The Landscape of Craft, Design and Art Today
This event examines craft's contribution to contemporary life, its value and nature. It will be hosted by critic and curator Corinne Julius, accompanied by Sarah Myerscough, gallery artists and leading experts. It is designed to inspire the audience to discover more about this specialist sector of art.
Small Spaces in the City: Rethinking Inside the Box
In the midst of an economic, health and housing crisis in the city, as interest rates and living costs continue to rise, more and more people are finding themselves living and working in small spaces, if they are to remain in the city. In this interdisciplinary exhibition, curated by Clare Farrow Studio, we look at a brilliant array of designs, in London, Tokyo, Berlin, Stockholm, and other cities in the world, that have responded to the challenge of small spaces with millimetre precision, multifunctional concepts, and a playful inventiveness that also highlights a changing society. These micro interiors, transforming furniture pieces and tiny homes, which are trending on social media, also propose a lighter, more sustainable way of living and working, where the city becomes an extension of your home.
Mandala Lab: Breath in
This soothing interactive installation is designed to tap into our emotions with five thought-provoking experiences inspired by powerful Buddhist principles.
‘We are on the threshold of an existential climate crisis, navigating the aftermath of a debilitating pandemic, and confronting military aggression in Europe. Humanity is at a turning point. Whichever we may collectively turn, disruption and turmoil are likely to be commonplace in our experience of the world going forward. Emotions will run high. To help us traverse these turbulent times with greater clarity, the Rubin Museum has melded the Buddhist psychology of the Vairochana Mandala with artist-inspired experiences in the Mandala Lab to provide a scent-and-sound stimulated guide to our emotions.’
Neuroscientist Dr. Tara Swart will outline the health and social benefits of the breathing pace generated by the Lab.
Co-creative Partnerships with Ai: Shaping the Future of Design and Creative Work
Ai based designed is the next frontier, this vent will look at how co-creative partnerships between humans and AI could revolutionise existing brand and design frameworks, as well as the future landscape of designer education.
Hopefully you get a chance to check a few of them out. (and If you do, let us know what you thought!).
